Virgil Abloh
Virgil Abloh (/ˈæbloʊ/; September 30, 1980 – November 28, 2021) was an American fashion designer and entrepreneur. He began his own line of luxury streetwear clothing, Pyrex Vision, in 2012, and became the chief executive officer of the Milan-based label Off-White, a fashion house he founded in 2013. Abloh was also the artistic director of Louis Vuitton's menswear collection beginning in 2018, and was given increased creative responsibilities across the LVMH brand in early 2021.[1]
"Abloh" redirects here. For the social networking service, see Ablo.
Virgil Abloh
September 30, 1980
- Designer
- Entrepreneur
- disc jockey
2009–2021
- Founder and CEO of Off-White
- Artistic Director of menswear at Louis Vuitton
- Creative Director of Donda
2
A trained architect, Abloh, who also worked in Chicago street fashion, entered the world of international fashion with an internship at Fendi in 2009, alongside American rapper Kanye West. Abloh assumed the role of Creative Director at Donda, West's creative agency in 2010.
The first African-American to be artistic director at a French luxury fashion house when he joined LVMH in 2018,[1][2] Abloh was named by Time magazine as one of the 100 most influential people in the world that year.[3] Abloh's design aesthetic which bridged streetwear and luxury clothing was described as transformative by The New York Times.[4] According to The Wall Street Journal, he reached a level of global fame unusual for a designer,[5] and as an inspirational figure, according to the BBC.[6]
Early life and education[edit]
Virgil Abloh was born on September 30, 1980, in Rockford, Illinois, to parents from Ghana.[7] His mother was a seamstress[8] and his father managed a paint company.[9] From his mother, he learned how to sew. Abloh was raised in Rockford, where he attended Boylan Catholic High School, graduating in 1998.[7] He graduated from the University of Wisconsin–Madison in 2002 with a Bachelor of Science degree in civil engineering.[7] He received his Master of Architecture at the Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT) in 2006.[10] When Abloh was attending IIT, there was a building on campus under construction designed by the architect Rem Koolhaas (who had also worked on runway collections for Prada). Koolhaas's building helped spark his interest in fashion.[7] Abloh was further inspired by Crown Hall, designed by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe.[11] Abloh's master's thesis project involved a design for a Chicago skyscraper, which curved in the direction of Lake Michigan.[11] While studying architecture, he also designed T-shirts and wrote on fashion and design for a blog, The Brilliance.[12][13] Abloh first met musician Kanye West while working on his designs at a Chicago print shop.[13]
Career[edit]
2009–2013: Rise to prominence[edit]
After getting his architecture degree Abloh interned at Fendi in the same class as rapper Kanye West in 2009.[7] Placed in the company's Rome, Italy office, the two began a collaborative relationship.[7] During his work with the rapper and designer, Abloh caught the eye of the Louis Vuitton CEO, Michael Burke.[7] Later that year, Abloh and West's artistic partner, Don C, launched a retail store, called the RSVP Gallery,[14] located in Chicago.[7] The store became known for carrying a mixture of fashion apparel, and for its reflection of Abloh's style on his design for the store interior.[7] A year later, West appointed Abloh the creative director of his creative agency, Donda.[7]
In 2011, West asked him to serve as the artistic director for the 2011 Jay-Z/West album Watch the Throne, earning the designer a Grammy nomination.[7] In 2012, Abloh designed the cover art for WZRD's self-titled debut.[15] In 2012, Abloh launched his first company, Pyrex Vision.[7] He purchased deadstock clothing from Ralph Lauren for $40, screen-printed designs on them and sold them for prices upward of $550.[7] He closed the company down a year later as he did not intend it to be a commercial enterprise, but an artistic experiment.[7]
Controversies[edit]
Abloh noted that one of his principles is that a new design can be created by changing an original by only three percent.[80] He described his approach as being "ironic detachment" and that Duchamp's precedent "gives him the grounds to copy and paste, to take and to re-apply". This philosophy caused Abloh to be accused of plagiarism and appropriation.[81][82]
The originality of Off-White's logo design with its alternating parallel diagonal lines has been contested by a number of parties, including Ben Kelly, who popularized this graphic in the early 1980s.[83][84] Fashion blog Diet Prada has compared several of Abloh's designs, from chairs to apparel, with existing designs.[85]
Abloh's fall/winter 2019 collection was based on his "ultimate muse", Michael Jackson. The launch occurred one week prior to the release of Leaving Neverland at the Sundance Film Festival.[86] In response, Louis Vuitton announced they would not produce any items that directly featured Michael Jackson elements.[87] Abloh also received criticism in early 2019 when images of his Off-White team suggested a lack of cultural diversity at his head office.[88]
In 2019, LVMH recorded a 20% growth in sales that were in part attributed to his appointment.[89] However, in December 2019 Abloh predicted that streetwear would die in 2020 as people moved to vintage clothing.[90] On the March 2020 launch of his collaboration with Japanese streetwear designer Nigo, Abloh retracted his earlier comments clarifying that he was only riffing, describing himself as a novice.[91]
During the George Floyd protests in mid-2020, Abloh attracted criticism after posting on social media a screenshot showing that he had made a $50 donation to Miami-based art collective (F)empower to go towards protesters' legal costs,[92][93] adding that he was "crazy inspired".[94][95] He later said on Instagram[96] that "I can understand your frustration if you think my contributions were limited to $50... [that is] purely false when it comes to the total. I have donated $20,500 to bail funds and other causes related to this movement,"[97] and continued, "I will continue to donate more and will continue to use my voice to urge my peers to do the same."[98] Abloh also subsequently stated that the looting of businesses during the George Floyd protests was an example of why streetwear "is dead".[94]
Philanthropy[edit]
In 2020, he established the Virgil Abloh "Post-Modern" Scholarship Fund. Abloh raised $1 million for the scholarships which will be managed by the Fashion Scholarship Fund to assist Black students.[99] In July 2020, Abloh's brand Off-White launched a fundraising program called "I Support Young Black Businesses" that sold Hoodies and T-Shirts with “I Support Young Black Businesses” written on them.[100] All of those proceeds went to an organization called Chicago CRED, aimed to diminish gun violence.[101] Also that year, with Nike he finished the redesign and renovations of the Boys and Girls Club facility in East Garfield Park, Chicago.[102] Abloh spent significant amounts of his time to mentor and provide mentoring resources to young designers.[103]
Awards and honors[edit]
Abloh received his first major award in 2011 when his work designing the cover art for American rappers Jay-Z and Kanye West's collaborative album Watch the Throne was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Recording Package.[7] In 2015, Abloh (for Off-White) was one of the finalists for the LVMH Prize. Abloh was the only American designer to be nominated for the award that year. Abloh's Charlie Hebdo-inspired "War is Not Over!" tees as well as his toppers from his fall 2015 women's collection gained him the most traction.[104] He received the Urban Luxe award at the 2017 British Fashion Awards.[8][105] He also won International designer of the Year at the GQ Men of the Year awards in 2017.[106] Abloh's Off-White Air Jordan "the Ten" collaboration won 2017's Shoe of the Year and he received the nod for Accessory Designer of the Year.[107] Abloh was listed as one of Time magazine's 100 most influential people in the world in 2018, one of two designers named that year.[108] In the Time issue, Japanese artist Takashi Murakami wrote that Abloh's impressive achievements led to his listing.[109] In December 2018, Abloh was honored as a leading innovator by Ebony Power 100.[110] Abloh was also nominated for 2019 Menswear Designer of the Year.[111]
Personal life and death[edit]
Abloh met his wife, Shannon Sundberg in high school, where they began dating. After 10 years of dating, Abloh and Sundberg married in Chicago in 2009.[112] Abloh lived in Chicago with his wife and their two children.[113]
In 2019, Abloh was diagnosed with cardiac angiosarcoma, a rare type of cancer, though he kept the diagnosis private. He died on November 28, 2021, at the age of 41, in Chicago.[4][114][115] With the family's permission, LVMH paid tribute to Abloh at their planned November 30 spin-out fashion show in Miami, with a theme of "Virgil was here". Kanye West, Kim Kardashian, Rihanna, ASAP Rocky, Bella Hadid, Pharrell Williams, Tahar Rahim, Venus Williams, Joe Jonas, Ricky Martin, Jeremy Pope, 21 Savage, Joan Smalls, and Bernard Arnault attended the tribute. Louis Vuitton dedicated its window displays worldwide, also using the dedication "Virgil was here".[116]
Kanye West later led a tribute to Abloh at his Sunday Service event with the song Easy On Me by Adele on November 28, 2021.[117]
Abloh's funeral service took place on December 6, 2021, in Chicago, with Drake, Rihanna, West, Kardashian, Kid Cudi, Tyler, the Creator, ASAP Rocky, Frank Ocean, Vic Mensa, Lauryn Hill, Don C, and Jerry Lorenzo in attendance amongst his family and other close friends.[118][119]